Themed Writing Contest #6
Theme: Cats
Rules:
1. You must write it yourself.
2. It must follow Codex rules.
3. Voting ends 5/29/2015 11:59 PM NST
4. Do not vote for yourself
5. Don't tell folks which entry is yours
entry 1
Cats are evil
Cats are mean
Cats are cats
Dogs rule!
entry 2
Alright, so before I owned my own cat, I was never really a "Cat Person". I had a couple dogs and one cat, of which was super annoying, while living with my parents. As I moved out with my girlfriend, we grew lonely and got two cats. Apollo, a large male tabby cat, and Callisto, we called her Tiny, was a tortoise shell cat. They got along rarely, he chased her all the time but it usually seemed like general play. She, didn't have the courage to chase him back because she had previously been a feral cat, the runt, and fearful of everything and everyone.
As days grew longer and longer after months of having both of them together with him being a nuisance, tearing up carpet, chasing her, being just an ass hole, we found him a new home. Tiny was distraught after not finding him. She knew he was her species and had someone always there when my girlfriend and I were gone to work. She increasingly got closer to us. Tiny had this meow that was unlike any other meow, she had to squeak just like a human trying to say eek eek eek very quietly. Our vet had said it was okay, and we went along with the diagnosis.
A few months later, we had gotten fleas, and had to tear apart the whole house, using DE, vacuuming every day, and keeping her in the bathroom to separate her from the eggs in the carpet everywhere. She never complained, and would LOVE to see us come into the bathroom. I hated having her in the bathroom for those three days. I missed having her sleep in bed with us, of which she only recently had begun doing. She would even let us pet her instead of running away. On that third day though, we came home from work. My girlfriend kept hearing something like wheezing. I couldn't hear it, because of either ignorance or just being too far from the bathroom door. We went into the bathroom to see her. She had been having a hard time breathing. We thought she could be sick or something. It was 7AM. We frantically tried to find a Veterinarian that was open. Once we found one, we called and said we were on our way.
As we sat and waited, worrying that the fleas we had would get to other unsuspecting pets and owners, it would be the least of our worries later. We were called up to do a check up on Tiny. As we brought her out, the vet had noticed that her gums were turning blue. Horrified, they instantly took her to get on oxygen and told us that they needed to keep her on it to try and get her vitals back to normal. We had agreed, and they sent us home. The vet called us once we got home. The most terrible news was given to us. They had waited with Tiny, while on oxygen, she had suffocated from not being able to breathe. She had a heart defect, of which had a chance to cause heart arrest. We saw her the last time, unable to breathe, unable to understand what was going on. Our baby had died away from us and we had nothing that we could do to help her.
I miss Tiny so much. She had learned, loved, and been loved so much in her one-year-old life. Even now I'm beginning to cry, just thinking of her. I am a cat person now.
entry 3
When I close my eyes all I see.
Is the cat's eye staring back at me.
I don't know what this could possibly mean?
All I know is, I have been seen.
Is it my hunter and I'm it's prey?
Is it a means of control, am I to obey?
I don't know why but it's creeping me out.
Every time I see it I just want to shout.
I'll decide to open my eyes just for a while.
But then I see a cat, with a grin and a smile.
I realize I have nothing to fear.
It's just my pet who's come near.
It looks like he's gone all out.
To tell me what he's all about.
It's just my kitten who wants to be lead,
right to the kitchen just to be fed.
entry 4
Gizmo stares unblinkingly at the ceiling fan atop from his refrigerator throne. Justin invites him to come down and join him for coffee at the table. He does so and tunnels underneath his human’s arm, having no interest in the caffeinated beverage.
Human reads the newspaper out loud as if Gizmo understands human language.
JUSTIN: Local man found dead on toilet, cause currently investigated. Wouldn’t that suck, Gizmo? To die dropping a deuce.
Gizmo twists his head like a screw under the owner’s silver-plated watch. The cat purrs in relief. Human mistakens it as a sign of agreement.
Suddenly, a doorbell rings and Justin gets up. Gizmo hisses at the loss of his back-scratcher. The cat looks over at the side where a white coffee mug sits, steaming.
Justin, at the doorstep, leans casually at the frame in front of his guest. He puts his hands into his pajama pant pockets and grins at his cute neighbor who is returning his phone. Justin left his phone there last night.
Gizmo heads towards the door. He hears more human voices. He freezes in the hallway when the neighbor smiles and waves at him. The cat darts back to the kitchen table.
He leaps onto the kitchen stool and then onto the table surface. Gizmo bumps into the mug and accidentally receives a splash of coffee onto his gray fur. He shrieks at the scalding liquid.
Gizmo sidewinds towards the middle of the table and faces the mug. With his fur all standing up, he lowers his head and raises his rump as if he’s a tiger, ready to pounce onto an unsuspecting gazelle. He declares war.
He launches forward, like a cannon, and swipes the mug off the table. The mug smashes onto the ground into smithereens. The sound echoes in the kitchen.
Gizmo is frightened by the noise. He speeds off the table, out of the kitchen, and up the stairs. He fears the sound might catch him.
Just hears his mug breaking and as well the pattering of his cat’s paws on his wooden stairs. He says goodbye to his neighbor and finds his mug lay in shambles on the floor.
JUSTIN: GIZZZZZMMMMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Underneath the bed in Justin’s room, the cat licks the coffee off his fur.
entry 5
Franklin's Atlanta
Franklin the Tabby had been wandering the wild streets of Atlanta for a couple of years. When he was a kitten, he had wandered off and lost his family. He could remember calling out for his mother in the dark alley behind a restaurant. He had only been there a few minutes before being chased off by a bigger cat. That day was the last time he ever saw his mother. On some occasions, he thought he caught glimpses of his brothers and sisters around corners. He’d chase them but always end up running into a wall or wandering into a dark, empty corner of the city. Atlanta was no place for a little cat like him.
The streets of Atlanta were rough. Other cats would hiss at him if he got too close. He was usually just hoping for a friend. Other times, he was looking for a safe place to sleep for the night and would accidentally wander into another cat’s territory. Sometimes the humans would take pity and toss food his way, but he mostly found food in the metal trashcans near stores or restaurants. He’d found that those were the best when it came to food, but other cats already knew that.
Franklin was never welcome anywhere. No matter how friendly he tried to be, Franklin was always competing with the other cats. One time, he approached another cat that was clawing through a heap of trash on the ground. Nearby was a trashcan that had been knocked over. He meowed about how he was friendly and just wanted to find some scraps of food as he approached, each step slow and thoughtful. The cat didn’t seem to notice or mind so he continued… but things changed drastically. Soon he was surrounded by cats, all of them looking to be at least double his size. Franklin froze. This was it. This was the time he wasn’t going to be able to get away.
One cat, looking to be the leader, hissed a warning his way, but as he backed away he ran right into another cat. Spooked, he jumped up and around but he was surrounded by them. Each one looked angrier than the one before. Just as they zeroed in on him, he heard a squeak and footsteps, followed by a cheerful “Mommy’s home!”
The big cats scattered, some diving under the couch or a chair. A few of them even ran straight for the stairs. Franklin stood frozen, thinking that this was some sort of trick by the other cats. They could get him comfortable and then pounce! He's was a goner.
The human rounded the corner and he looked to her, his eyes wide. She frowned and approached where he was standing. “Franklin, did you knock the trash over?” she said, placing her hands on her hips. The woman waited as if waiting for an answer but all he could give her was a frightened meow. With a sigh, she knelt down and gave him a pat on the head. “I know. You’re too little for that. Must have been the others. Guess you guys got hungry while I was at work. Let’s get you fed.”
entry 6
Thief! Selina Kyle -
Catwoman by Gotham night.
Steal! The Batman's heart.
entry 7
eyes fluttering
paws splayed
curled into me
i miss you
brother
entry 8
“Turn on channel four” my neighbor told me over the phone. “There’s been another attack.”
I hung up and turned on the TV.
“…fourth such attack in Vestal this month. This is the first one caught on film. We want to warn viewers that what you will see next may disturb you.”
A clip from a gas station’s security camera began to play. A man was slowly backing away from the pumps, toward the front door. Something on the ground was advancing towards him. There were a few of them, actually. They seemed to be some kind of animal, possums or cats or something.
“Holy fuck”
The animals jumped on the man, attacking him as he fell. I watched horrified as they tore at him.
The clip ended and the reporter began speaking again.
“We have decided not to show the rest of the video. Paramedics declared him dead at the scene. He has yet to be identified. As for the…attackers, we believe them to be cats. We cannot be sure that they are responsible for the other deaths, but all the victims have been found with similar wounds.”
If I hadn't seen the video I would have thought the reporter was full of shit. "Cats?" Jesus. Why would a group of cats be attacking people?
To be continued…
Get Off My Lawn Paint Brush
Edited by Guppie, 21 May 2015 - 03:09 PM.